Sunday, April 16, 2023
Sunday's Short Stack: Lessons in Keeping a Dangerous Promise by Charlie Cochrane
Cambridge Fellows Mysteries #13
Jonty Stewart and Orlando Coppersmith like nothing better than being asked to solve mysteries, but when they get commissioned to help someone fulfil a vow he made to a late comrade in arms, matters start to cut too close to home for both of them.
Not sure why it took me so long to get to Lessons in Keeping a Dangerous Promise as Charlie Cochrane's Cambridge Fellows Mysteries is one of my absolute favorite series and Jonty and Orlando definitely rank high on my Top 10 ships list. I hate to keep saying it but unfortunately my reading mojo still hasn't quite returned after it fell way down during Covid. Slowly but surly it's creeping back and I have quite a list of stories to catch up on, well Dangerous Promise was one of them.
Despite it taking me way longer than normal to read Jonty and Orlando's latest case, I loved it as much as ever. The pair just never get old. For a couple of reasons, this latest case put before them hits home more than some of their others. Having been asked to prove the guilt or innocence of a curate who has been accused of being a little too friendly with a few of the young boys in his parish and when it's a fellow veteran of The Great War who brings the case to them, how can they refuse?
I still miss the contributions by Jonty's parents into their cases but Lavinia has stepped in and does her share of assisting that brings a level of fun spirited moments to the story that only a sister can. Readers of Cambridge Fellows will know that Jonty has a sad history with being messed with in his youth in a similar way the young curate has been accused of, I can't imagine how difficult that could make the case but at the same time I think it gives the pair a sense of needing to know the truth. If guilty than punishment is needed so the boys can heal but if innocent then the stain of accusation must be removed so the man can heal. Which is he? Guilty or innocent? Well, by now you know my answer to that: you have to read to discover for yourself.
Jonty and Orlando are as delightful as ever. The heat has always been mostly off-page but the chemistry and love between the men is undeniable. They have what I like to call a "snark and cuddle" quality about them. "Snarky" may be a bit overstated but their quips with each other makes their cuddle time even more "awwwww"-inducing. In Dangerous Promise this element that makes their relationship so amazing is just as prominent as it was in Lessons in Love when they first met way back in 1905.
For those who have yet to dive into this cozy historical mystery series, don't let the number of entries scare you. Once you start you won't want to stop. I've been reading them as published as there was none of the novellas and still had 2 full lengths to come when I discovered Jonty and Orlando. Each entry is it's own mystery, there are the occasional past case references but the author keeps the reader updated enough so you won't be lost if you hadn't read that particular referenced case. The main ongoing elements is the growing relationship between Jonty and Orlando obviously but also friendships and family, those are factors that are important to me to be read in order but not a necessity. The author keeps a chronological order on her website if you'd like to read them that way. However you choose to read it, you will never be lacking in highly addictie fun that keeps you guessing right up to the reveal.
Jonty Stewart looked through the window of his study at St Bride’s college, transfixed by the scene playing out in the court below. Dr Panesar—polymath, pioneer aviator and who knew what else—was trying to catch a wounded pigeon, a pigeon which didn’t appear to want to be caught.
“That’s quite a kerfuffle.”
The voice sounding over his shoulder was so familiar, Jonty barely registered surprise at its owner’s arrival in his room. Anyway, he’d seen Orlando Coppersmith heading across the court and guessed he would be arriving soon.
“Another victim of Hotspur, do you think? Or Mrs Hotspur?”
“Quite likely. They’re doing a marvellous job of keeping the flying vermin under control.” Orlando patted Jonty’s shoulder while they both observed their colleague’s progress. St Bride’s took a great deal of pride in the pair of peregrine falcons which had deigned to nest on the chapel tower and which dived down on their prey at a terrifying rate.
The college took an equal pride in its pair of amateur sleuths, who’d solved mysteries and murders ancient and modern, including a commission from royalty.
“Not far to look for a culprit in the case of the plucked pigeon.” Jonty cuffed his lover’s arm. “It feels a long time since we had a proper case, though. I can’t believe the world has turned virtuous all of a sudden.”
“I will be extremely vexed if it had.” Orlando snorted. “I’m not asking for a murder—it makes me feel very guilty when I’ve been yearning for one and it subsequently lands in our laps, as it were—but a code to unravel or a crime from long ago would be most gratifying.”
Jonty had heard that refrain many a time, either here in college or by their own fireside. While Orlando always had his mathematics and the challenge of trying to get the principles of same into the noddles of his students, it didn’t provide quite the intellectual stimulus of a real-life mystery. “Well, given the way the universe seems to work—or the machinations of Mama sitting on her heavenly cloud forcing the angels to organise a case for you or else she’ll report them for having grubby halos—no doubt some perplexing mystery will soon fall into our laps. A nice, tricky one, with no corpses or other distressing quantities.
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Because wherever Jonty and Orlando go, trouble seems to find them. Sunny, genial Jonty and prickly, taciturn Orlando may seem like opposites. But their balance serves them well as they sift through clues to crimes, and sort through their own emotions to grow closer. But at the end of the day, they always find the truth . . . and their way home together.
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Be sure and check the author's website for a complete chronological list of novels, novellas, free short stories in the Cambridge Fellows Mysteries Universe.
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Author Bio:
As Charlie Cochrane couldn't be trusted to do any of her jobs of choice - like managing a rugby team - she writes. Her favourite genre is gay fiction, predominantly historical romances/mysteries, but she's making an increasing number of forays into the modern day. She's even been known to write about gay werewolves - albeit highly respectable ones.
Her Cambridge Fellows series of Edwardian romantic mysteries were instrumental in seeing her named Speak Its Name Author of the Year 2009. She’s a member of both the Romantic Novelists’ Association and International Thriller Writers Inc.
Happily married, with a house full of daughters, Charlie tries to juggle writing with the rest of a busy life. She loves reading, theatre, good food and watching sport. Her ideal day would be a morning walking along a beach, an afternoon spent watching rugby and a church service in the evening.
Lessons in Keeping a Dangerous Promise #13
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